Microreaction Technology

On the other hand, microreaction technology is an effective tool for process intensification and hazard control. Owing to the dimensions in the micrometer range, this technology brings some benefits that are broadly accepted. They exhibit advantageously high surface-to-volume ratios and short retention times of the reactants and they enable continuous and very precise control of the reaction scenario. The high surface-to-volume ratio in microreactors gives them far better heat exchange characteristics than attainable in macroscopic batch or flow-through reactors.
The microreaction technology is very interesting for mixing sensitive reactions. By increasing mixing quality and eliminating hot spots, unwanted side, subsequent and decomposition reactions can be suppressed. Especially when fast and highly exothermic reactions are considered that provide a broad spectrum of by-products, significant benefits will be obtained. Beside other reactions, the table below demonstrates the increase of yield for two different nitration reactions by using microreaction technology. Though the increase of yield varies for the different examples, it is obvious that in any case microreaction technology provides significant process intensification compared to conventional, macroscopic batch processes.
examples for process intensification using microreaction technology (laboratory scale)